Archives for September 2016

A pilot was not injured when his plane crashed into a vineyard next to Lampson Field yesterday afternoon. The plane reportedly missed the runway during landing and crashed into the vineyard just to the south of the airport..Lakeport Fire Protection District personnel responded to the crash that was reported just after 4PM. The pilot exited the craft on his own.

A crash on Taylor Road yesterday resulted in a fatality. According to the California Highway Patrol, the 71-year-old male driver from Ukiah crashed his vehicle into a fence after dropping off some recycling at the transfer station. CHP said the accident was caused when the driver suffered a medical condition. The Ukiah Valley Fire Authority arrived and personnel performed CPR on the man for several minutes, but the life-saving measures were unsuccessful and the man was pronounced dead at the scene. CHP was withholdingg the victims name until his family could be notified.

Taxpayers won’t be footing the bill for the repairs being made on the Perkins Street overpass in Ukiah. The overpass was damaged on September 14th when it was struck by an over-height load on a truck. A Caltrans District 1 spokesman says the insurance carrier for the company whose employee caused the damage will be charged for the cost of repairs up to $1.1 million dollars.

A structure was destroyed yesterday in the Oil Fire. Cal Fire crews battled the fire that started on Oil Well Hill just north of Willits around 3:30 p.m. as multiple small fires. Highway 101 was briefly closed. Forward progrss was stopped within 3 hours. Firefighters were extinguishing hot spots last night. Water tenders from Hopland Fire and Ukiah Valley Fire Authority were used to supply water to the engines to fight the oil fire.

The latest on the SawMill fire, east of Cloverdale, is 1,609 acres burned and 90-percent contained.

Close to 25,000 marijuana plants have been eradicated from the Middletown area. The Lake County Sheriff’s Narcotics Unit located and eradicated 7,569 mature marijuana plants from a clandestine marijuana cultivation site within the rural mountains of Butts Canyon, near the Napa County Line. The grow was discovered by a hunter who alerted authorities. During a recon flight in the area, Detectives located a second large grow site a few miles from the original reported garden. in 2016, the Lake County Sheriff’s Narcotics Unit has located and eradicated a total of 41,883 marijuana plants from several different locations within the Butts Canyon area. The total number of marijuana plants which have been located and eradicated in Lake County this year is 310,000.

Senator Mike McGuire’s bill to to support Lake County pear growers and packers has been signed by the Governor. The bill allows pear packing plants in rural Lake County to employ 16- and 17-year-olds for up to 10 hours per day during the short peak harvest season. The bill extends the exemption for Lake County until January 2022, and maintains all the existing requirements for employers to receive the exemption.

The name of the suspect involved in the “Mitchell Creek Incident” in Fort Bragg has been released. Thomas Charles Anderson is facing three felony charges. Anderson was armed, and had fired shots. The Mendocino County SWAT Team arrived at the residence and Anderson was taken into custody without incident.

The Lakeport Police Department will be staffing a full time School Resource Police Officer on the campuses of the Lakeport Unified School District starting the first week of October. This program has been made possible by a funding partnership between the LUSD School Board and the City Council of the City of Lakeport. All involved officials believe that placement of a police officer on the school grounds will greatly enhance the safety of all students, staff and visitors on the campuses, in addition to having a positive impact on the students.

Cal Fire reports the SawMill fire, burning east of Cloverdale, is now 75-percent contained. The fire, which started on Sunday and is still at 1500 acres. Two “minor” injuries were reported and no structures have been lost. Firefighters continue to mop up and patrol the fire perimeter.